Popular Features

With the Combine only a couple of weeks away, now seems like a good time to start evaluating not just who to target in dynasty rookie drafts, but where those targets may go in your league. I got together with Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) to do a first round rookie mock draft. Our objective in this…

RotoExperts’ Davis Mattek Gives Pre-Combine Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings As part of the all-inclusive NFL365 package on Roto Experts, myself and Anthony Amico will be bringing you consistently updated dynasty fantasy football rankings. This first released version does not yet encapsulate rookies or the bearings of free agency but is a good masthead for how to…

Darrell Henderson NFL Draft Prospect Profile Despite having what is some of the most outstanding college running back production we have ever seen, Darrell Henderson is not the consensus top running back prospect. Rotoviz’s Scouting Index has him as the 4th ranked running back in this class amongst draft rankers, which really does not line…

2019 NFL Combine Betting The NFL combine will begin to convene in Indianapolis on February 26th, 2019 and you best believe 2019 NFL Combine Betting will be analyzed. More than 300 prospects from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, PAC-12 and the other college athletic conferences will descend to do their 2019 NFL Combine athletic…

The NFL Draft Statistics Matter That Most for Tight End Prospects In the previous article, I went through some key statistics for NFL Draft running back prospects. The series continues here, as I dive into the tight end position. I’ve done a bunch of regression-tree analysis on draft prospects. Using statistical software, we can see…

JJ Arcega-Whiteside Prospect Profile Wide receivers who accumulate a majority of their production in their final season of college are generally to be questioned. The evaluation of wide receiver prospects is full of riddles and Arcega-Whiteside has several of them. Through three college seasons, JJ Arcega-Whiteside had 72 receptions, including a true freshmen season where…

What NFL Draft Statistics Matter Most for Running Back Prospects? In the first article in this series, I went through some key statistics for wide receiver prospects. The series continues here, as I dive into the running back position. I’ve done a bunch of regression-tree analysis on draft prospects. Using statistical software, we can see…

Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Zach Britton is Back

Baltimore Orioles: Zach Britton was activated off the disabled list Monday. Manager Buck Showalter has stated that he would prefer Britton’s first outing or two to not be in a closing role but rather in a lower leverage situation. None of this really matters though as it won’t be long until Britton does take over the role from Brad Brach and it also won’t be long until the Orioles trade him. The next 6-7 weeks is all about proving that Britton is healthy to other clubs so the Orioles can trade him should they decide to do so, and make no mistake, they should do so. They are 25 games out of first place in the American League East and 22 games out of a wildcard spot. The season is over. They should be looking to deal anything that isn’t nailed down.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs didn’t use Brandon Morrow in a save situation last Friday and Saturday, which raised some concerns that he may have suffered an injury. Well, Fantasy owners can relax. Manager Joe Maddon let it be known that Morrow didn’t pitch Friday because he had pitched the prior two days, and he wanted to give him Saturday off also as preventative maintenance. Morrow will get the next save opportunity for Chicago.

Chicago White Sox: Manager Rick Renteria has been playing it coy of late as to who is the team’s closer of late. Joakim Soria has picked up four straight saves, but Renteria stated that although Soria has been closing of late, he has confidence in others to do the job also. That Soria could pitch the seventh, eighth or ninth inning depending on when he’s needed. Renteria is trying to indicate that he doesn’t want to be tied down to one reliever pitching the ninth inning. He would like to use any reliever in any situation depending on who he believes has the best chance to get the outs that the team needs. That’s good for the White Sox but bad for Fantasy owners. I’ll still take Soria right now if you need saves out of Chicago, but it could easily be Nate Jones next week.

New York Mets: Remember last week when we were worried about the Mets going with a committee in the ninth inning and Jeurys Familia possibly losing some save chances? Problem solved. Familia went on the disabled list Friday with a shoulder injury. Familia isn’t expected to be out much longer than the minimum 10 days. It was thought that Robert Gsellman would take over the closing role in his absence, but he pitched during the seventh inning in games versus the Yankees over the weekend with Anthony Swarzak picking up the only save opportunity. You may not want to read to much into this however as manager Mickey Callaway has hinted several times this season that he would like not to have a designated closer but rather use any reliever in any situation depending upon need.

New York Yankees: Aroldis Chapman had the Yankee trainers visit the mound Friday which might have raised an eyebrow or two. It turns out that Chapman is dealing with tendinitis in his knee, something he has been pitching through. It doesn’t seem to bother him enough to keep him out of games or put him on the DL, but it could be enough reason for Aaron Boone to manage his workload and make sure he doesn’t pitch three days in a row. Just something to keep in mind.

San Diego Padres: Are the Padres preparing for life without Brad Hand? Possibly, as Kirby Yates seems to be in a timeshare in the closing role with Hand at present time. The Padres should certainly be putting Hand’s name out there in the trade market, but that might not be the only reason for the timeshare. It could also be because Yates has a 1.08 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP while only having walked eight batters and striking out 31 batters in 25 innings. It’s not that Hand has pitched poorly, just that Yates has pitched better. The Padres could also be marketing Yates. He’s 31 years old. It’s not like he’s in their long-term plans either.

San Francisco Giants: Nothing much has changed in San Francisco. Hunter Strickland is still the closer at present. Mark Melancon has made four appearances since coming off the DL and is certainly ready to pitch in high leverage situations. The only question now is if/when manager Bruch Bochy will make the change. Once again, Hunter Strickland isn’t making the decision easy as he has done nothing to show he can’t handle the job. Bochy may be waiting for a bad outing or a series of them to make the decision easier.

Toronto Blue Jays: Roberto Osuna’s stay on administrative leave has now been extended until the end of June. This isn’t a shock as no one truly knows when he will pitch for Toronto again. Ryan Tepera is the current closer for Toronto, but he will only hold that job for as long as he pitches well. His leash is short and Seung-Hwan Oh and John Axford aren’t out of the picture yet.

Team

Closer

Next in Line

Deep Potential

DL

Top Hold Reliever

ARI

Brad Boxberger

Archie Bradley

Archie Bradley

ATL

Arodys Vizcaino

A.J. Minter

A.J. Minter

Jose Ramirez

A.J. Minter

BAL

Zach Britton

Brad Brach

Miguel Castro

Darren O' Day

Brad Brach

BOS

Craig Kimbrel

Matt Barnes/Joe Kelly

Tyler Thornburg

Joe Kelly

CHC

Brandon Morrow

Pedro Strop/Steve Cishek

Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards

Justin Wilson

CHW

Joakim Soria

Nate Jones

Juan Minaya

Nate Jones

CIN

Raisel Iglesias

Jared Hughes/David Hernandez/Wandy Peralta

Jared Hughes

CLE

Cody Allen

Nick Goody/Dan Otero

Andrew Miller

Nick Goody

COL

Wade Davis

Jake McGee

Adam Ottavino

Adam Ottavino

Jake McGee

DET

Shane Greene

Joe Jimenez

Joe Jimenez

Alex Wilson

Joe Jimenez

HOU

Ken Giles

Chris Devenski/Brad Peacock

Chris Devenski

Chris Devenski

KC

Kelvin Herrera

Brandon Maurer/Justin Grimm

Brandon Maurer

LAA

Blake Parker

Cam Bedrosian/Justin Anderson/Jim Johnson

Justin Anderson

Blake Wood/Kenyan Middleton

Cam Bedrosian

LAD

Kenley Jansen

Josh Fields

Josh Fields

MIA

Kyle Barraclough

Brad Ziegler/Drew Steckenrider

Drew Steckenrider

Brad Ziegler

MIL

Corey Knebel

Matt Albers/Jacob Barnes/Josh Hader

Josh Hader

MIN

Fernando Rodney

Addison Reed

Addison Reed

NYM

Anthony Swarzak

Robert Gsellman

Jeurys Familia/A.J. Ramos

Robert Gsellman

NYY

Aroldis Chapman

David Robertson

Dellin Betances

David Robertson

OAK

Blake Treinen

Ryan Butcher/Santiago Casilla

Ryan Dull

Santiago Casilla

PHI

Hector Neris

Edubray Ramos

Seranthony Dominguez

Pat Neshek

Edubray Ramos

PIT

Felipe Vazquez

Kyle Crick

Kyle Crick

STL

Bud Norris

Luke Gregerson/Jordan Hicks

Dominic Leone/Greg Holland

Jordan Hicks

SD

Brad Hand

Kirby Yates

Kazuhisa Makita

Kirby Yates

SF

Hunter Strickland

Sam Dyson/Tony Watson/Mark Melancon

Sam Dyson

Sam Dyson

SEA

Edwin Diaz

Alex Colome

Juan Nicasio

Alex Colome

TB

Jose Alvarado

Sergio Romo/Dan Jennings/Chaz Roe

Chaz Roe

TEX

Keone Kela

Alex Claudio/Matt Bush

Alex Claudio

TOR

Ryan Tepera

Tyler Clippard/Seung-Hwan Oh/John Axford

Roberto Osuna (susp)

Tyler Clippard

WSH

Sean Doolittle

Ryan Madson/Brandon Kintzler/Shawn Kelley

Koda Glover

Koda Glover

Ryan Madson

As always feel free to follow me on Twitter and ask any questions you like, @georgekurtz.

Main Image Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Popular Features

With the Combine only a couple of weeks away, now seems like a good time to start evaluating not just who to target in dynasty rookie drafts, but where those targets may go in your league. I got together with Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) to do a first round rookie mock draft. Our objective in this…

RotoExperts’ Davis Mattek Gives Pre-Combine Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings As part of the all-inclusive NFL365 package on Roto Experts, myself and Anthony Amico will be bringing you consistently updated dynasty fantasy football rankings. This first released version does not yet encapsulate rookies or the bearings of free agency but is a good masthead for how to…

Darrell Henderson NFL Draft Prospect Profile Despite having what is some of the most outstanding college running back production we have ever seen, Darrell Henderson is not the consensus top running back prospect. Rotoviz’s Scouting Index has him as the 4th ranked running back in this class amongst draft rankers, which really does not line…

2019 NFL Combine Betting The NFL combine will begin to convene in Indianapolis on February 26th, 2019 and you best believe 2019 NFL Combine Betting will be analyzed. More than 300 prospects from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, PAC-12 and the other college athletic conferences will descend to do their 2019 NFL Combine athletic…

The NFL Draft Statistics Matter That Most for Tight End Prospects In the previous article, I went through some key statistics for NFL Draft running back prospects. The series continues here, as I dive into the tight end position. I’ve done a bunch of regression-tree analysis on draft prospects. Using statistical software, we can see…

JJ Arcega-Whiteside Prospect Profile Wide receivers who accumulate a majority of their production in their final season of college are generally to be questioned. The evaluation of wide receiver prospects is full of riddles and Arcega-Whiteside has several of them. Through three college seasons, JJ Arcega-Whiteside had 72 receptions, including a true freshmen season where…

What NFL Draft Statistics Matter Most for Running Back Prospects? In the first article in this series, I went through some key statistics for wide receiver prospects. The series continues here, as I dive into the running back position. I’ve done a bunch of regression-tree analysis on draft prospects. Using statistical software, we can see…